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One of the most common indulgences for many people is alcohol. Whether you prefer to have a glass of wine to unwind after a stressful day or party it up with shots and cocktails on the weekends, most of us drink alcohol without giving it a second thought to what it is really doing to our waistline.

Whenever I start working with a new client, they commonly claim to eat extremely healthy but have “just one or two” drinks per day. They are confused as to why they are not losing fat, despite training hard and eating well.

The problem isn’t the calories – it’s what the alcohol does to your body.

When you have alcohol, your body shuts down its digestive processes until all of that alcohol is out of your system. Obviously, if you have just one glass of wine this will take less time than if you drink a whole bottle. When you go overboard, all that food you eat is being stored as fat.

You may be thinking that an easy solution to this problem is just to drink without eating. Please don’t do that or you will end up in an even worse situation!

If you’re going to drink, drink and enjoy it. Don’t try to compensate by cutting calories out of your day elsewhere. But treat alcohol as what it is – a treat that should be enjoyed in moderation. You wouldn’t cheat on your diet every day and expect to see results, would you?

Other problems can be caused by excess drinking, such as skipping training sessions because you’re hungover, and making poor food choices when under the influence. After one too many drinks, I promise I won’t be thinking about eating healthy – hand me a burger and fries!

So how many drinks are okay? Ah, the question that most people don’t like the answer to. If you are serious about losing fat, I’d recommend cutting out alcohol entirely until you have seen significant progress. Try to limit drinking to once per month, or at the very most once per fortnight.

I have personally witnessed a huge change in my body from cutting out alcohol. In the past, I have lost 5lbs over the course of a month by making no other dietary changes other than avoiding booze – and this was when I was only having 1-2 glasses of wine per week. That right there shows you how much of a negative impact alcohol can have on your physique.

I’m lucky in that I’ve never really enjoyed drinking, so it’s not that difficult for me to cut out alcohol. I would much prefer to have a pint of ice cream than a bottle of wine!

How many alcoholic drinks do you consume per week? Have you seen a negative impact on your physique due to the amount of alcohol you drink?

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18 Responses

pinkcharell / 4-24-2013 / ·

LMAO I love that post! That’s the cold hard truth!!

sprint2thetable / 4-24-2013 / ·

First, I have to aplaud you for the use of the word “fortnight.” 😉

Second, I now want to drown my sorrows in a bottle of wine. LOL! I love wine. And scotch. But you are right. As someone who has pretty low body fat even in the off season, when I cut out booze I notice a BIG difference in my physique. Especially my problem area – the abs.

Tara / 4-26-2013 / ·

Haha what do you use instead of ‘fortnight’??

sprint2thetable / 4-26-2013 / ·

Isn’t it just a every other week? American’s are so unsophisticated. 😉

julie / 4-24-2013 / ·

what happens in Ireland stays in Ireland right? Hopefully that includes booze lbs!!

Tara / 4-26-2013 / ·

Ha, well one week of drinking can be undone in a week or two in any case!

Sam @ Better With Sprinkles / 4-24-2013 / ·

This makes me feel lucky that I’m not a huge drinker either! I imbibe maybe once a month or so. When it starts happening a little too often I start to feel like crap, so I can imagine it has an effect on my physique as well.

Sara @ Nourish and Flourish / 4-25-2013 / ·

I’m with you—hand me a pint of ice cream ANY day over a bottle of wine! I feel fortunate that I don’t really enjoy alcohol–in fact, I’ve had to “train” myself to finish a glass of wine; when I first started drinking, I’d take a few sips, and bleeccch–that was enough. Now, whenever I have wine, it’s almost always champagne because I DO enjoy that. Occasionally I’ll go for a mixed drink, but I always ask for the sugar to be omitted, and keep it to one. I’m usually the girl nursing plain sparkling soda water with lime at the bar, though. So sexy. 😉

Happy Wednesday, Tara! <3

Tara / 4-26-2013 / ·

Ha, I had to train myself to drink wine too. I love it now but I still can’t stand champagne! I do love a sugary mixed drink though 😉

When I worked in finance, I’d go to a drinks event almost once a week and I’d stick to soda water and lime! If anyone asked I just said it was vodka and soda, as I would literally be the only person in a room full of hundreds of people not drinking.

Vanessa / 4-25-2013 / ·

I find this post extremely triggering for someone who has suffered from an eating disorder. Enjoying a glass of wine or two on the weekend has been something I like and find its a small social part of my life on a weekly basis… And I know I’m still under a healthy BMI. I guess to lose the 5 pounds I’ve been hating and thinking about I’ll cut out alcohol!

Tara / 4-26-2013 / ·

I’m so sorry, Vanessa! That was not my intention at all <3

I was targeting this post towards women who are serious about fat loss but may not understand the effect of alcohol. I don't think anyone recovering from an ED - especially someone with an underweight BMI - needs to worry about cutting out alcohol. I would urge you to continue to incorporate alcohol in this manner for your mental health, which is far more important than the state of your physique. Sorry again!

Khushboo Thadani (@KhushbooThadani) / 4-25-2013 / ·

Like you I’d much rather eat my calories than drink ’em- they taste much better in the former form and don’t make me feel like death afterwards. When I drink more than a couple of glasses, I find that the domino effects is what messes me about- I start to crave greasy foods (or lose my appetite completely) and faff around in my workout. On most weeks, I probably drink 2-3 glasses of wine or vodka which works for me.

Tara / 4-26-2013 / ·

That sounds like a good level of moderation! All I want is greasy food when I drink!! And then I feel even worse the next day with a booze AND food hangover haha

Rob / 4-25-2013 / ·

You’re right about losing fat. I’m losing fat quickly and I feel healthier and better everyday. I’m sleeping great and have more energy…… I would trade all of it in a second for beer and a football(soccer) match in a second!!!! Hahaha

Tara / 4-26-2013 / ·

LOL you can enjoy football without beer!

Bek @ Crave / 4-26-2013 / ·

The last time I drank was New Years and I had 4, I guess you can say I’m a special occasion drinker, if that ha. Next time I drink will probably be at my 21st in June and I may enjoy a cocktail while in Europe.

I use to be a big drinker in high school though, but alas no more.

Tara / 4-26-2013 / ·

That’s good – positive steps in the right direction! I tend to not drink at special occasions, and instead do it on random days.

Link Love 27/4 | / 4-26-2013 / ·

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